Figma’s IPO: A Mixed Bag for the Tech Giant

Uh, where to start? Figma, the design software company co-founded by Dylan Field—wait, was it Ivan Wallace? Yeah, Ivan Wallace—made quite the splash at the recent Bloomberg Technology Summit (I think it was May 9, 2024?) in San Francisco, announcing its IPO at a price of $33 per share. Yep, that’s beyond the initial expectations, which had them pegged somewhere below that. Anyway, they began trading under the ticker “FIG” on the New York Stock Exchange—super clever, I guess.

So, Figma’s plan seems to capitalize on the slowly reopening public market for tech IPOs. Circle, which does that stablecoin thing, and Coreweave, a company diving into AI infrastructure, have seen some growth this year. But then there are others, like Chim and a few health-tech firms—what were their names again? [Need to double-check.] Anyway, they’ve made their entries too, but I’m not sure it’s the same kind of buzz.

Figma pulled in $1.2 billion from the IPO, most of which goes to existing shareholders. So yeah, a substantial sum, but then again… how does that play out in the long haul? The valuation is sitting at about $19.3 billion. Adobe had plans to acquire them back in 2023 for roughly $20 billion—though, right, remember the regulatory hiccups? Adobe ended up paying a $1 billion breakup fee. Quite the drama. (Hedging here: I’m not entirely sure of the details, and they might vary depending on who you ask.)

Field confidently stated that revenue surged to $247 million, which—hold on, that’s not right?—was it $250 million? Oh, whatever. It’s a substantial uptick from $177.2 million the previous year, representing about a 40% growth. (But, uh, some people on the internet think it’s all smoke and mirrors. Not quite sure.)

Field’s biggest investor holds 56.6 million shares and another 26.7 million for voting purposes. Index Ventures tops the institutional shareholders at about 65.9 million shares, which equals… what’s that again? Oh! Roughly 17%. Some of the big names are—uh, let’s see—Greelock at 16%, and then there’s Cleaners Perkins at 14%… who am I missing? Oh boy. (Editor: Need better quote here—no time, sorry.)

Everyone involved seems to be cashing out a bit, which raises some questions. Someone nearby was saying this looks like a typical tech bubble. Is that true? It’s hard to gauge.

After a long day juggling calls and deadlines—seriously, I’m still trying to piece it all together—I can hardly keep track of what was said in online interviews. “I guess their operating loss was something like $500,000?” But then again, last year’s losses were pegged at around $894.3 million. It just feels, well, kind of chaotic?

Amidst the noise, I’d say Figma’s growth is significant, but the journey is filled with complexities—like, you know, stock-based compensation issues and all that. [Not entirely sure how to articulate that.] So does this IPO position them for a stable future? Or will it be just another blip?

Anyway, you can see more about their financials in their updated prospectus, which has a lot of info I haven’t even fully read yet. I will, I promise! But with so many conflicting reports, do we actually know where they stand? And what happens next? Hard to say. Whether this really shifts the tech landscape remains an open question.